Monday, August 1, 2011

Are these cookies "OLD" and "LOSE AIR" already?

Amos famous chocolate chips cookies were available in Malaysia since 1983 and the first store opened in Sungei Wang in 1984. There were no other brands that could compete with them back then. Then, came a new brand, also from the USA in 1996, but they were available only exclusively to this Quay Po and her family. The brand name is ”Quay Lo’s Chocolate Chips cookies”. His cookies were huge, thick and chewy! Most of all it is the best chocolate chips cookies I have ever tasted. My Quay Lo told me my mother-in-law made these cookies on holidays together with lots of other goodies. He inherited this recipe from her.

"Quay Lo’s Chocolate chips cookies" are one of the many favorite sweets that my Quay Lo bakes for family and friends in Kuala Lumpur. The first time these cookies were introduced to my side of the family, the following ensued. After one bite of a cookie, my sister-in-law pulled me aside and asked me this question quietly so that my Quay Lo could not hear it. She asked, “Are these cookies very old already? Why is it so chewy?” She said in Cantonese “Hai mai lau foong jor? (translating literally as, “did they lose air already?”). I was not surprised at all by her question because I knew that Asian taste buds are more used to crispy cookies not chewy ones. Honestly, I had not eaten a chewy one before I met my Quay Lo too. Most of my family members took a while to like them, but not my god-son, Darryl. He was only 5 years old then and my Quay Lo had baked a batch with colorful M and M instead of chocolate chips for all the kids. Darryl loved them so much that he ate many (no one knew how many) of them quietly while his parents were busy visiting with us. I was told by his dad that he got sick from over eating. Poor guy, LOL! Today Darryl turned 21! He is a fine and handsome young man and an aspiring chef. I am sure this brings back lots of fond memories for the two guys.

Ingredients:

2 eggs2 sticks (8 oz.) butter soften

1/2 C granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

(A)

2 ¼ C all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

(B)

¾ C packed brown sugar

½ C oatmeal (raw)

2 tbs corn flour

Method:

Put (A) in a bowl and mix well and set aside. Put (B) in a blender and blend till fine. Beat fine blended mixture (B), butter, granulated sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl with the mixer until creamy. Add eggs and beat well. Gradually add mixture (A) mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and mix well. Wrap the dough in cling wrap and chill in the freezer for 1 hour. Just before baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Drop by 2 rounded table spoons onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 12 – 15 mins or until lightly browned. (Note: this depends on your oven, mine was perfect at 13 mins) Cool slightly and remove cookies to wire rack to cool completely before taking out of the baking sheet.

Note: Keep cookies in an air tight container and store in the fridge for balance not eaten. It becomes more chewy the next day.

I absolutely love this story. Chocolate chip cookies are my favorite in the world. I make several different varieties of them. All of which, I only deem perfect if they are good and chewy. I very rarely make a crunchy cookie of any sort. I had no idea that was more Asian cookies were supposed to be crunchy. I'm going to look through your archives now and find something fun to try with my kids this week!

LOL.You remind me of my first chewy cookie. It was in Coffee Bean and I returned the cookie saying it was 'lose air'. LOL. The barista told me, it's like that one, soft and chewy. Haha, had to hide my face that time. Hmmm.. that was like 3 years ago.Now, your cookies looooooook so tempting, especially the shot with the goooey melty center. Must make next time if I crave for some choc cookies!

I am laughing at the debate over chewy versus crispy because, simply stated, I love both. Given fresh ingredients, and good timing in the oven, a cookie is a cookie and I can't think of one that I do not like.

Sounds like the perfect cookie recipe! Thanks for sharing. Last time I made chewy cookies, I was also told "not nice; how come lou fong?" LOL. I personally prefer chewy cookies :) Nice that your godson is also has culinary ambitions. The pic with your quaylo so cute... they both have identical smiles.

I think they are chewy because of oatmeal in its content. The oatmeal absorbs moisture as the cookies are stored. I'm fan of cookies in all forms...both crispy and chewy. Sitich's cookies look very yummy!

Is there anything better than chocolate chip cookies and a loving story to flavor them even more? Of course not. Love the chips, love the story and oh goodness, that boy is a heartbreaker:) An aspiring chef too!!!

Thank you so much for sharing, Veronica and please know, your soothing words were most comforting...

Happy Birthday to Darryl and good luck with your plans to be a chef; my son is a chef; not the easiest job in the world; he really loves what he is doing and we ar so proud of him.Never had Amos cookies in our area,but your recipe sounds fantastic.Rita

i guess you no longer get the famous amos choc chip cookies anymore after discovering 'papa stitch' cookies. I love both crunchy and chewy type as long as it's taste chocolatey. i'm going to steal this recipe again and keep for future use.

OMG Quay Po! Your Quay Lo's chocolate chip cookies look divine! I'm a fan of the chewy cookies so I would love these. So sweet of Gary to make some with colourful M & M's for the kiddies. Happy birthday to your God son. May the road ahead for this aspiring chef be full of great food, joy, and fun.

@ICook4funI have grown to like the chewy one now:D Good for old lady like me, starting to have problem bitting to crunchy stuff.

@MaryI do not think I have many cookies recipes in my blog. The other which is crunchy cookies is the linzer dough cookies.

@Gloria, @Prema, @CurtThanks

@WenYou are welcome. Do give me some feedback on how you like the chewy cookies after you baked them.

@WendyI am sure the barista had many people returning the cookies when they first introduced them in Malaysia. You are not alone!

@DarlingI know you like both:D

@yummychunkletI guess corn flour is instrumental to the chewiness of the cookies.

@yummy bakesMost of us feel the same especially when it is our first experience with a chewy cookie.

@Food DreamsOh yes, me too, I love it when it is still warm

@NELI am glad me and my family are not those who thought those chewy cookies "lou foong".

@neyeelohAre you staying in KL? maybe can courier you some when the next time I bake the cookies?

@PetePeople who are not picky about food are the best. They will have better chances of experiencing delicious foods.

@That GirlI won't disagree with you.

@ZoeI believe your theory is right and Stitch will be so please to see what you wrote about his cookies.

@ErinNext time either you visit us or we visit you, we must have a baking session together.

@louiseI am so happy to hear from you and welcome back!

@mNhLI believe you cos many people used to do that. Thank you for the birthday wish on behalf of Darryl.

@JoanneWhat you just said made me want to bake more cookies.

@RitaWow, you son is a chef? I am sure you get to eat lots of yummy food made by him then. All mothers are proud of their children. I agree the job of a chef is very demanding, I can see how chefs work on all the food programs, a lot of pressure. You have to love you job to be able to stay happy.

@lenaI am my Mother-in-law's recipe will please you. Do let me know how your cookies turned out after you tried the recipe.

@LeQuanI will pass your birthday wishes to Darryl. I thank you on his behalf. If you love chewy cookies, this is it, you got the right recipe. Enjoy!!

We all love Amos cookies but not cheap, so I only buy for my gals occasionally or as a reward for them when they behave well or got full marks for their spellings etc... ;)These cookies look very tasty and look at those melted chocolate in it! ;D

@LynThis is more delicious than Amos cookies for sure. In fact I will be posting a even better recipe which yields softer and more chewy cookies soon. That is one that I share with my students today at the cooking class:D I will keeo you informed.

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A LITTLE ABOUT THIS QUAY PO

Before I was married to my "Quay Lo" (Guaylo) husband, I did not know how to bake or cook. Subsequently I learned some baking and cooking Western cuisine from him, and providing his food for him launched an interest in cooking in general. Many of my Chinese friends and family told me that "Quay" is the wrong spelling for devil in Cantonese. The right spelling should be "Kwai" or "Guay". Well, somehow I like the spelling "Quay" better although I have to agree that it does not sound very Cantonese. Try asking a Westerner to pronounce "Kwai" and you will probably hear "Quay" haha. Whether is "Quay" or "Kwai" or "Guay, just know the devil woman is me when you see Quay Po Cooks. My hubby said if people pronounce "Quay" as "Key" is even better because I am the key to his heart. LOL!

Only now, have I started to learn the traditional Cantonese cuisine of my Mum. She cooks fabulously and all her specialties are divine. These two interests, my husband's Western food, and my mother's traditional food, prompted me to document them so they will not be lost.

Here, I wish to share my cooking and baking experience with my readers. I also hope to inspire those who do not know how to cook or bake to do so because, trust me, if I can, you can too.

Something I'd like to mention is that I find that many people are rather unwilling to share their recipes. However, for me, I think differently. I think good recipes should be shared thus allowing as many people to enjoy it as possible. Unless those recipes are for doing business, I don't see why we want to keep them all to ourselves. So if you are generous in sharing your recipes, you are welcome to share on my blog. Send the recipes to me and better still with pictures of the final products and I will be very happy to post them them with credits to you of course.

Our cuisine is a deeply embedded part of our culture. When two cultures come together under the same roof the results in the kitchen can sometimes be comedic, sometimes confrontational, but more often it is a journey full of surprises and discovery. There is joy in our food. If we think upon this, it is intuitively obvious. This blog is a journey of joy and sharing, reflecting what the French like to call "joie de vivre" (joy of living). No one could be more different from one another then my husband and my mother. Yet one thing they share in common is knowing intuitively that food, cooking, and sharing can be avenues of joy in life itself. So herein, help yourself, to a little joy and , if you like it, share it with your own family and friends. Joy is something that should be shared.

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